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Avandra
Avandra is a good deity in the Khilarian pantheon. Known as the god of change, Avandra delights in freedom, trade, travel, adventure, and the frontier. Avandra has taken a particular liking to the mortal race of Halflings. Though some may not be adventurous in nature, the majority tend to have a deep wanderlust that is never fulfilled. Due to this reason, Avandra tends to take the form of a Halfling woman for her avatar. Avandra tends not to get involved with the politics of the deities, tending to focus on the great adventures the mortals have on the Prime Material Plane. This is not to say that Avandra is Neutral; in fact, Avandra is very much considered Chaotic Good due to her followers help those that need adventurers for the sake of goodness. Relations Avandra, together with Corellon, and Melora, constitute the three deities known as the free gods. Their cooperation grew from their earlier relationships and the connection some of them had with the race of the halflings. The free gods objected to turning the astral dominion of Carceri into a prison and worked to obtain a different solution. Avandra is considered one of the three gods of destiny, together with Ioun, and Grimm. She is said to hate Zehir the most. She is an opponent of Asmodeus and Torog. Avandra has taken no exarch into her service in ages. She chooses to interact directly with her followers, and she guides her mortal servants to battle against her enemies—not out of any sort of personal cowardice, but because she believes in allowing mortals to solve their own problems. History Avandra and the Halflings According to halfling legend, Melora and Sehanine created the halflings together, giving the race a love of nature and the gift of stealth. When their interest waned, Melora and Sehanine stopped looking after the race, or so the legends go, and halflings made their own way in the world. They say Avandra, the god of luck, admired their resourcefulness and adopted them, favoring them with good fortune. Not all halflings worship Avandra, but nearly all breathe a prayer of thanks to her when fortune favors them. Avandra and the First Doppelganger When the world was young, Avandra was deeply involved in the lives of its creatures. She delighted in making their lives better. One mortal who was the object of Avandra's favor was a beautiful woman who was pursued by a cruel suitor. This suitor set his servants on her like hunting dogs. Two times Avandra helped the woman to flee or fight by changing her luck, and each time the woman praised Avandra after her escape. The third time the woman was threatened, Avandra gifted her with the power to change her form so that she could save herself from any future threat. The woman used her power to become an assassin, killing her suitor and all who served him. When Avandra sought her out to rebuke her, the woman used her power to hide from the goddess. By the time Avandra found the woman, her children's children had given birth to many more offspring, all having the power to change shape. The goddess's gift, once given, could not be taken away. Thus the race of doppelgangers and their descendants, the changelings, were born. From that episode, Avandra learned a bitter lesson about being overly generous to mortals. Ever since then, she has been careful to help mortals only in small ways, often hiding her hand. By allowing mortals to face their own problems, Avandra provides them with the chance to discover their full potential. The Divine Compromises When the immortals had won the war against the primordials, they fought among themselves for dominion over various aspects of the natural world. Zehir contested with Pelor over mastery of the sky, for the sun banished darkness. Dumera, in turn, fought with Khala, whose icy mists and snows blocked the life-giving rays of the sun. Each of Dumera's opponents gathered allies, and Pelor had allies of his own. On one side stood Corellon, Khala, Zehir, and Sehanine, while on the other stood Pelor, Erathis, Moradin, and Melora. The two forces argued for ages to no avail, leaving hurts and grudges that linger still. At last Avandra parlayed between the two factions. To settle the argument between Pelor and Zehir, she offered day and night. As a compromise between Khala and Pelor, she proposed alternating seasons of summer and winter. The gods, weary of their quarrels, agreed. Pelor abides faithfully by his agreement with Zehir, but from time to time Zehir seeks to shadow the sun during daytime with an eclipse. Khala is no more, but the Raven Queen-who holds sway over winter now-honors the ancient pact. Yet she also tests Pelor's resolve, seeking to end summers early and delaying springs as long as she can. In this way, autumn snows and spring thaws can come early or late. Worshippers Halflings, merchants, and all types of adventurers are drawn to her worship, and many people raise a glass in her honor, viewing her as the god of luck. Temples Her temples are few in civilized lands, but her wayside shrines appear abundantly throughout the world. Dogma Her commandments are few: * Luck favors the bold. Take your fate into your own hands, and Avandra smiles upon you. * Strike back against those who would rob you of your freedom and urge others to fight for their own liberty. * Change is inevitable, but it takes the work of the faithful to ensure that change is for the better.